Max Bardowell 2-18-08 Journal 3-1

Energy/ Hooke’s Law

This week we began the study of the electric, absorbent, and reactive world of energy. This is an interesting reversal, as last unit we studied Newton’s Laws, all of which require energy to be witnessed and created. At first it seemed as if we were studying the cause after the effect, but then we began to quantify our energy in Newton’s, and the practical experience I gained last unit was reshuffled to the front of my mind once again. I guess the study of Physics can be approached from almost any angle and still be appreciated at its fullest. It is an interesting dynamic.

The experiments we have conducted have been some of the most varied and entertaining of the year, reflecting both the versatility of energy and the way it has permeated our lives. We began an experiment by bouncing balls only to move on to another that involved cranking hand powered generators to light a small bulb. The Hooke’s Law lab, while fairly basic, did help to illustrate one of the fundamental laws of energy, thus allowing us to define the Hooke’s Law equation (F = K * ▲X) and to work our way towards the equations that form the foundation for the field of energy as a whole.

Question: Who developed Hooke’s Law?